Tenants and Data Protection by David Lawrenson of Letting Focus
As the incidence of credit and ID fraud increases, so landlords have had to collect more and more information on tenants to ensure that they don’t get the tenant from hell.
Only by using a proper referencing system can lanldords be sure that the person standing in front us who wants to rent a house, is really who they say they are and can afford to pay the rent with no hassles.
In my experience most tenant applicants understand this and are happy to provide the information we need to do our credit and reference checks.
In fact, I only had one potential tenant who objected to providing previous utility bills such as proof of past address. Needless to say, I didn’t let to her!
You Need a Thorough Tenants Referencing System
A thorough tenants’ referencing system will deter tenants with a history of not paying their rent and also potential ID fraudsters who will seek an easier, “greener” landlord elsewhere.
But there are laws about what landlords can and can’t do with the information we collect and landlords who abuse the data they hold on tenants can get themselves in trouble.
Fortunately the Information Commissioner (formerly the Data Protection Registrar) sets out some guidance for landlords that explains what landlords can and cannot do with tenant data.
The Information Commissioners says if you use an agent to find a tenant and they obtain references for you, you are entitled to see the references as long as your agent makes it clear to the tenant on the tenant application form or in writing that this will happen.
If the agent says he can’t change his application form or get the tenants’ consent to this, I’d suggest you go to a more amenable agent.
Checking Tenant References Yourself
If you do the referencing yourself, you should always tell tenants what you will do with the information they give you and what credit checks and searches of databases you will do – the key thing is to be clear about how you will use information and not to use information for any purpose that is unreasonable.
Suppose you let out a shared house to say two or more tenants in which each tenant is “jointly and severally” liable to pay the whole rent – i.e. they do not each have individual agreements.
In this case, if one doesn’t pay, you can seek to recover the balance owing from any one of the other tenants (or their guarantors) if they have them.
In these circumstances you would, by implication, be revealing that there was a shortfall in the rent receipts due because one or more tenants have not paid their “share.”
As they are all party to a legal contract, you are perfectly within your rights to do this.
Tracing Agents and Other Third Parties
Other third parties who can be given the tenant details would include debt collection agencies or tracing agents who will need information on money owing to do their job. The Information Commissioner advises landlords to make it clear in the tenancy agreement that this could happen in the event that the tenant leaves with money owing.
Landlords should not give previous tenants’ new address to new occupiers unless the old tenants have requested this happen in writing.
To find out more about referencing tenants and how to find a good tenant ask me.
ABOUT LETTINGFOCUS.COM and DAVID LAWRENSON
We are LettingFocus.com - the landlords’ expert and I’m David Lawrenson, the author of “Successful Property Letting” - the UK’s top selling property and buy to let book for the last 3 years.
I have been a landlord and property investor myself for over 25 years.
At LettingFocus we offer independent unbiased advice for landlords and property investors on a one to one mentoring and coaching basis as well as occasional group seminars.
Unlike many in the still largely unregulated buy to let and property “advice” business I am not linked to a property company, developer, estate agency or bridging loan provider.
As such I am able to give unbiased independent advice on where to buy (which areas), what type of property to buy, when to buy and how to buy property at a low price. I can also explain how to reduce the risk of getting a bad tenant.
We help you make money in property by showing you the ways that work and which are of minimal risk to you.
CHECK OUT THESE PAGES AT OUR SITE LETTINGFOCUS.COM:
THE HOME PAGE OF THIS BLOG click here: Blog
THE HOME PAGE OF OUR MAIN SITE click here: LettingFocus Home Page
NEXT SEMINAR AND NETWORKING EVENT for Landlords and Property Investors:
Next Property Investing Seminar and Networking Event
We have GREAT OFFERS on a range of products for landlords too, click here to see them: Services and Products for Landlords
For general info on our SEMINARS AND CONSULTING click here: Property Seminars, Networking Evenings and Consulting
ONE TO ONE CONSULTING click here: Property Consulting
CLIENT TESTIMONIALS from past customers click here: Testimonials
BUY THE BOOK click here: Buy the Book at Amazon
To JOIN our Free QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER simply send an email to david@LettingFocus.com - Please note we WILL NOT send spam or sell our mailing list to advertisers!
IF YOU HAVE A SITE WHY NOT LINK TO THIS BLOG OR OUR WEBSITE?
Selling services to landlords and property investors and have a national coverage? You could be a partner, please get in touch!
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If you have a website & are thinking of reproducing material here, that’s fine but we DO require a link to the blog to be included, including also all the links in this section. (The full article including all links must be available to ALL VIEWERS of your site and not restricted.)
TO VIEW RELATED POSTS select a “Category” at the bottom of this page.
Copyright: David Lawrenson 2007. This blog is updated once a week
To read archived blogs select a date from the list at the right. To read recent ones, just page down.
Only by using a proper referencing system can lanldords be sure that the person standing in front us who wants to rent a house, is really who they say they are and can afford to pay the rent with no hassles.
In my experience most tenant applicants understand this and are happy to provide the information we need to do our credit and reference checks.
In fact, I only had one potential tenant who objected to providing previous utility bills such as proof of past address. Needless to say, I didn’t let to her!
You Need a Thorough Tenants Referencing System
A thorough tenants’ referencing system will deter tenants with a history of not paying their rent and also potential ID fraudsters who will seek an easier, “greener” landlord elsewhere.
But there are laws about what landlords can and can’t do with the information we collect and landlords who abuse the data they hold on tenants can get themselves in trouble.
Fortunately the Information Commissioner (formerly the Data Protection Registrar) sets out some guidance for landlords that explains what landlords can and cannot do with tenant data.
The Information Commissioners says if you use an agent to find a tenant and they obtain references for you, you are entitled to see the references as long as your agent makes it clear to the tenant on the tenant application form or in writing that this will happen.
If the agent says he can’t change his application form or get the tenants’ consent to this, I’d suggest you go to a more amenable agent.
Checking Tenant References Yourself
If you do the referencing yourself, you should always tell tenants what you will do with the information they give you and what credit checks and searches of databases you will do – the key thing is to be clear about how you will use information and not to use information for any purpose that is unreasonable.
Suppose you let out a shared house to say two or more tenants in which each tenant is “jointly and severally” liable to pay the whole rent – i.e. they do not each have individual agreements.
In this case, if one doesn’t pay, you can seek to recover the balance owing from any one of the other tenants (or their guarantors) if they have them.
In these circumstances you would, by implication, be revealing that there was a shortfall in the rent receipts due because one or more tenants have not paid their “share.”
As they are all party to a legal contract, you are perfectly within your rights to do this.
Tracing Agents and Other Third Parties
Other third parties who can be given the tenant details would include debt collection agencies or tracing agents who will need information on money owing to do their job. The Information Commissioner advises landlords to make it clear in the tenancy agreement that this could happen in the event that the tenant leaves with money owing.
Landlords should not give previous tenants’ new address to new occupiers unless the old tenants have requested this happen in writing.
To find out more about referencing tenants and how to find a good tenant ask me.
ABOUT LETTINGFOCUS.COM and DAVID LAWRENSON
We are LettingFocus.com - the landlords’ expert and I’m David Lawrenson, the author of “Successful Property Letting” - the UK’s top selling property and buy to let book for the last 3 years.
I have been a landlord and property investor myself for over 25 years.
At LettingFocus we offer independent unbiased advice for landlords and property investors on a one to one mentoring and coaching basis as well as occasional group seminars.
Unlike many in the still largely unregulated buy to let and property “advice” business I am not linked to a property company, developer, estate agency or bridging loan provider.
As such I am able to give unbiased independent advice on where to buy (which areas), what type of property to buy, when to buy and how to buy property at a low price. I can also explain how to reduce the risk of getting a bad tenant.
We help you make money in property by showing you the ways that work and which are of minimal risk to you.
CHECK OUT THESE PAGES AT OUR SITE LETTINGFOCUS.COM:
THE HOME PAGE OF THIS BLOG click here: Blog
THE HOME PAGE OF OUR MAIN SITE click here: LettingFocus Home Page
NEXT SEMINAR AND NETWORKING EVENT for Landlords and Property Investors:
Next Property Investing Seminar and Networking Event
We have GREAT OFFERS on a range of products for landlords too, click here to see them: Services and Products for Landlords
For general info on our SEMINARS AND CONSULTING click here: Property Seminars, Networking Evenings and Consulting
ONE TO ONE CONSULTING click here: Property Consulting
CLIENT TESTIMONIALS from past customers click here: Testimonials
BUY THE BOOK click here: Buy the Book at Amazon
To JOIN our Free QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER simply send an email to david@LettingFocus.com - Please note we WILL NOT send spam or sell our mailing list to advertisers!
IF YOU HAVE A SITE WHY NOT LINK TO THIS BLOG OR OUR WEBSITE?
Selling services to landlords and property investors and have a national coverage? You could be a partner, please get in touch!
Over on the right hand side under all the previous blog entries you will find a button which says “Site Feed.” Simply copy the site feed link into your News Reader or News Aggregator.
If you have a website & are thinking of reproducing material here, that’s fine but we DO require a link to the blog to be included, including also all the links in this section. (The full article including all links must be available to ALL VIEWERS of your site and not restricted.)
TO VIEW RELATED POSTS select a “Category” at the bottom of this page.
Copyright: David Lawrenson 2007. This blog is updated once a week
To read archived blogs select a date from the list at the right. To read recent ones, just page down.
Labels: Data Protection Laws, letting agency tips, reference checks, tenant checks, tenant referencing
This entry was posted by lettingfocus, on
Tuesday, September 04, 2007.
